


We Are (Mostly) Whole

by MadnessofVoid



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Universe, Fluff, Gen, Implied Relationships, Implied Sheith, POV Keith (Voltron), Post S7, Reunions, i am still garbage at tags holy crap, kinda small implied though, recovering paladins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-09-30 21:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20454155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadnessofVoid/pseuds/MadnessofVoid
Summary: “But, on the bright side, reuniting families has been going as decent as it can go! It'll definitely take time, but with all the additional man power we have from the Coalition, and now the Blades, it should go a little more quickly!”“That is so good to hear!” sighed Allura with relief. “Thank goodness everyone here has been reunited with their families already. That's less work for you!”It was subtle. A blink and miss it scenario if one didn't know what to look for.But Keith did.





	We Are (Mostly) Whole

**Author's Note:**

> My first (completed) Voltron fic! May not be the best, but I'm trying to explore the universe still and I'm very much an infant in this field. 
> 
> This fic has actually been sitting in my folders for a while now. Since the interview about not wanting to show Shiro's family coz it would be "boring", or something along those lines. I've been pretty nervous about posting this, but I've decided that even if I feel the work is "garbage", I'm posting it. It's better than not posting anything at all (which I haven't since October coz I have been in the worse creative slump I've ever experienced).
> 
> Anywho...I hope you enjoy. And I hope you guys like Shiro's parents!

“I'm serious, Shiro! Your speech was good! I don't know why you think it wasn't! Keith here liked it! And he was half awake!”

Keith rolled his eyes, about the only reaction he had energy for such a stupid statement. How could he not like anything concerning Shiro? Especially those speeches he was known for. Keith wished he could give Lance a playful punch to the shoulder, because why not, but yeah. No energy. Hooray Earth drugs.

“Your speech was _so_ good...it woke Keith from the dead.” Pidge teased.

“Okay okay! I get it!” sighed Shiro, trying (and failing) to sound annoyed. “I made a great speech. Can we move on to something else now, please?”

The Paladins took that as their cue to immediately shoot off into whatever was on their minds, drowning each other out with excited chatter. For people currently wheelchair bound, clearly still bone deep exhausted, on and off meds, and only in Keith's room because the nurses couldn't stop them from raising hell, they sure were lively.

Keith met Shiro's gaze, sharing the same fondly exasperated look. How everyone else could be so excitable and chatty was beyond them. But, honestly...Keith would love to be like this right now. He wished he was able to be keep up with the rest of his family, not exactly a fan of how lethargic and achy he currently was. It would take time before he could join the others. Too much time for his liking. Was starting to go stir crazy already.

“Now now, Paladins! I believe this chit-chat would be much more beneficial if we spoke one at a time!” Coran boomed, silencing the noise almost at once. “Keith is still a bit out of sorts, and Shiro is running on very little sleep. So! We need to accommodate them in order to be as productive as possible!”

Of course Allura instantly rounded on Shiro upon hearing this, sternness sweeping across her face. “You haven't been sleeping, Shiro? All the work I hear you're doing...and you haven't been _sleeping_?”

He was lucky it was Allura scolding him and not _Krolia_. Keith would never say, but he knew Krolia was overprotective of Shiro. Was hard not to be when the man had filled most of Keith's memories. She tried not to show this fact on their way back to Earth. She really did. However, Keith knew the signs. And if Shiro thought that she was just being concerned for his well-being like she was for everyone else's, then who was Keith to shatter the illusion?

Shiro chuckled nervously, purposefully avoiding meeting Allura's gaze. “Well...there is a lot of work to be done around here, Princess. Also, the Coalition was slowly starting to arrive after the battle, and I was the only person who knew both the Garrison and them. I was sort of needed to be the mediator in discussions until at least Matt, Krolia, or Kolivan arrived.”

“Is that why Krolia and Kolivan left? To talk with the Garrison?” Hunk asked.

“That, and probably to give us space. They know how much we were all worrying about Keith.”

Keith couldn't help the snort that left him. They had nothing to worry about. He was a _fighter_. They all knew that! There was no way he was going to die from a fall like that!

Not when he just got Shiro back...

“Anyway...” Lance said, eyebrows raised in amusement. “Tell us exactly what work you've been doing, Shiro. Bet it has been loads of fun.”

Judging by the expression...it wasn't.

“It has been...definitely something. Like I said, there is a lot of work to do. And I mean _a lot_. Sendak did a number on Earth. There is going to be...many places that will take years, maybe centuries, to recover. We lost some important landmarks and national forests to his destruction. Histories of ancient civilizations were almost completely wiped out. It's...discouraging...to say the least...”

The mood in the room drastically shifted from excitable and cheery, to somber and mournful. With a huge pinch of guilt .The heaviest of it coming from Allura and Coran. Quickly, Shiro cleared his throat and slapped on a smile, obviously doing classic damage control.

“But, on the bright side, reuniting families has been going as decent as it can go! It'll definitely take time, but with all the additional man power we have from the Coalition, and now the Blades, it should go a little more quickly!”

“That is so good to hear!” sighed Allura with relief. “Thank goodness everyone here has been reunited with their families already. That's less work for you!”

It was subtle. A blink and miss it scenario if one didn't know what to look for.

But Keith _did_.

He saw the pain flicker in Shiro's eyes before he resumed his usual demeanor. Saw it so clearly. He frowned, reaching out for his best friend. The IV and dull ache in his body nearly stopped him from gripping at Shiro's flesh and bone hand. From squeezing it as tightly as he could muster. But he managed, and Shiro startled briefly before he glanced over and smiled weakly. It was the 'I'm fine, don't worry about it' smile. Which, of course, meant Keith was going to worry.

Once they were alone...he was going to ask. This was not something Shiro should bottle up.

There was a timid knock at the door, causing all heads to raise and focus on it. A nurse poked her head in, looking a little sheepish. Maybe even a little starstruck. The norm, these days.

“Um...I am so sorry to interrupt, but there is someone here for you, Captain. They insist on seeing you. They, uh, also want to meet the Paladins.”

Shiro perked up, brows furrowed in confusion. “Oh. Uh, okay? Send them in. Unless you don't want more people in your room, Keith...”

Keith shrugged, hoping his grin was reassuring “I don't care, Shiro. You know that.”

"Are you sure? You haven't been awake for long, and-and I don't want you to be overstimulated. Your recovery -"

"Shiro...relax. I promise it's fine."

With resignation, Shiro nodded. “All right...you heard the man. Send them over.”

The nurse muttered a 'yes, sir' and scurried off, making sure the door was fully open as she left. The others looked at each other, expressions puzzled. Who would want to see Shiro? Who would want to see _all of them_?

“Fans, maybe?” Pidge offered.

“Ah, yes. That may be it! You lot are quite popular, after all.” Coran hummed.

“But the staff hasn't allowed fans to visit us.” pointed out Hunk.

“Ah! That is true as well! Then it could maybe be someone from the Garrison? Or perhaps a member of the Coalition or the Blades?”

Lance huffed, not looking too thrilled about the idea. “That's possible. And here I was hoping we wouldn't get any work while sitting around here...”

Thankfully, the mystery around their visitor didn't last too long. And it wasn't anyone from the Garrison, Coalition, or the Blades.

A couple stood in the doorway. They were older, sharing the same dash of salt and pepper to their hair. The woman on the left was weighed down with exhaustion, but one wouldn't really zone in on that with how wide her smile was. She also looked ready to drop to the floor with relief – her slate-gray eyes threatening to spill over.The woman on the right had dark circles under her equally dark eyes, but she seemed to be vibrating with excitement. And, unlike her partner, she _literally_ almost dropped to the floor, only standing because of her grip on the door frame.

It had been some time, but Keith _knew_ these people. He had seen photos. Heard stories. Read letters. Saw them at the 'funeral' from afar. They were alive. By some stroke of luck, they were _alive_.

The sound of a chair falling over caused Keith to flinch. Caused everyone to flinch. Shiro had shot up from where he sat, shaking feverishly. For a brief moment, he was in disbelief. Like none of this was real. When the couple started crying, mouths covered to stifle the sounds, Shiro moved. He staggered over to them, immediately wrapping them in his arms. He shook more as he held them, the shoulders being worse off.

Crying. Shiro was _crying_.

Keith could feel the eyes of their friends on him, searching for answers. But he ignored them. He'd rather watch the reunion with a gentle smile. His chest ached for them. How horrible it must have been...to think your child was dead for so long...

He could hear them whispering to one another in Japanese, making the moment even more theirs. And they deserved it. _Shiro_ deserved it. After nothing but shit after shit falling on his shoulders...Shiro _deserved_ to have _this_.

But of course, Shiro being Shiro, cut it short, turning to face the audience. He wiped at his eyes, which were still streaming with tears, and grinned like a goof. “S-sorry! Um, let me introduce you! Guys...these are my moms, Etsuko and Izumi.”

To see Coran and the Paladins gape in shock at the revelation made Keith want to laugh hysterically. (Maybe when he was more recovered he would do just that. Along with maybe teasing them mercilessly.)

“Um, Okaasan, Mama...these are my friends.” He brought the couple more into the room, looking anxious and giddy all at once. He pointed at each person as he introduced them, voice tender and eyes shining with pride. “This is Coran. He is part of my bridge crew on the _Atlas_ now, but before that he was sort of the one that made sure the Castle of Lions functioned. I'll, uh, tell you all about that later.”

Coran eagerly shook their hands, his own eyes pooling over. “It is an honor to meet you! You raised a mighty fine boy!”

“This is Princess Allura. She made the Castle of Lions do all sorts of_ incredible_ things that I'll also tell you about later. She's our new Blue Paladin, and the one who helped make sure we_ all_ came home.”

Allura beamed, moments away from crying herself. “Like Coran said, it is an honor to meet you. Thank you for giving us Shiro. He is one of the best leaders the universe has ever been blessed with. His kindness is unlike anything I have ever seen before as well.”

(Shiro started bawling all over again after she said that, fumbling over words that sounded very much like he was attempting to claim the statement was false. Hunk had to reach out and pat his arm in understanding in order for him to resume introductions.) “Th-this is Hunk. He's our Yellow Paladin. Also our engineer. And unofficial cook. He's _amazing_ at it all!”

“Hi.” Hunk smiled, waving a little shyly. “I'm one of the legs. It's pretty cool.”

“This is Pidge. She's our Green Paladin and resident genius.”

Pidge preened smugly, pushing her glasses up farther on her nose. “Yeah...I do some pretty cool stuff.”

“This is Lance. He used to be the Blue Paladin, but now he's our Red Paladin. So he's the right hand and second-in-command. And he's quite the sharp shooter!”

Lance sat up straight in his wheelchair, smiling and reaching out to shake their hands. “Pleased to meet you guys!”

“The oddly quiet wolf right here in the corner is Kosmo. He's a cosmic wolf. Teleports. It's awesome if you're not afraid of popping up in places you might not want to go to. A few of the staff here learned that the hard way. He also drools. A lot. So...be careful of that. Still a goof boy, though. Aren't you, Kosmo?”

For the first time since the room had been filled, Kosmo raised his head, sniffing the air before going right back to faking a nap. It was probably too loud for him, but he refused to leave Keith's side. Loyal till the end.

Then, they reached Keith's bed. Shiro's face softened into something he reserved only for Keith. He sat on the foot of the bed, resting his cybernetic hand on Keith's leg. Through the blanket, he stroked at the leg with his thumb and his eyes crinkled when Keith shivered.

“And this...this is Keith. He was our Red Paladin and my right hand...but now he's our Black Paladin. The leader. And I couldn't be more proud of him.”

Keith had to snort extra hard (which his chest did not approve of) to hide the fact that he teared up at Shiro's words. “Sap.”

Shiro snorted back, now gripping at Keith's leg. It was shaky at best. Probably was still high on the fact that his moms were here, all in one piece. Keith lifted his chin at them, giving them the best smile he could muster.

“It's nice to meet you. I mean, I saw you guys at the funeral...but I didn't think I should bother you then. So...um...hi. Officially.”

Something mischievous flashed in the dark eyed woman's stare. Shiro had _definitely_ learned that from her. “Ohhhh! So _you're_ the mysterious Keith gushed about in our little Takashi's letters!”

“Izumi...” warned the woman who strikingly looked like Shiro. Strong jaw and all. “Sorry about her. My wife is a bit..._intense_ sometimes.”

“I wasn't being intense, Etsuko! I was simply stating a point.”

“I'm sure you were...”

It was a battle to suppress the laugh bubbling within Keith. So _Etsuko_ was who Shiro inherited the 'I am one hundred percent done with you' pout from. Good to know. Especially when both of them were doing it at the same time. Was cute. Shame no one had a camera.

“Mama...” Shiro grumbled.

Izumi shrugged, moving her attention on to the rest of the room. “It is really nice to meet you all. I find it comforting to know our son was with such good people all this time.”

No one dared to tell the mothers that Shiro _hadn't_ actually been with them the whole time. That, for the year he was announced dead, he was a prisoner of the Empire. They were also most certainly _not_ talking about the fact that he had _died_ and was now in the body of his clone. Ignorance is bliss, after all.

(At least until Shiro would talk to his mothers about it. Hopefully without any other ears around.)

“We're sorry it took so long to come, sweetie.” Etsuko said with slight woe. “We had been trapped deep in a camp. We were only rescued two days ago by some of your friends from space. They had some strange masks and interesting swords.”

“Oh! That's the Blade of Marmora! They are an espionage group of Galra who fought against the Empire.” Shiro explained eagerly. “Keith was actually a part of them for a while.”

“He was?” Izumi glanced at Keith, confused. “But you said it was a group of Galra?”

Keith chuckled and smirked rather lazily. (He was _not_ going to admit he was slightly trying to look cool for Shiro's moms. Nope. Nuh-uh. No way.) “ It is. My mom's Galra.”

As if being summoned, Krolia entered the room with Kolivan by her side. They stopped before going too far in, seeing that there were two more people than there were earlier.

“Well, looks like we have a full room.” Krolia said in amusement.

“Shall we give you more time?” Kolivan inquired.

“No no! Stay!” Shiro waved them over, his goofy grin back. “I want to introduce you two to my moms!”

_That_ got Krolia's attention. Immediately, she made her way over, which made Shiro's mothers look slightly uncomfortable. She stopped a few feet in front of them, allowing enough space for her to outstretch her arm and wait for a handshake.

“It's an honor to meet you both. My name is Krolia. I am Keith's mother. Your son has done so much for my son. Words can't describe how thankful I am for him being there when no one else was. You raised a good man.”

Izumi was the first to take Krolia's hand, that glint of mischief making a comeback. “The pleasure is all ours! Your son did a lot for our boy, too. Judging by the way he gushed about Keith in his letters. It would have been borderline irritating if it wasn't so cute how much he really cared about, and I quote, 'this guy who flies like no one I have ever seen before and stole my car'. I sometimes wondered if Kashi was going to one day bring Keith home for the holidays and say they were da -"

“Mama!” Shiro whined childishly, face going as red as the Lion. "Okaasan, stop her..."

Etsuko rolled her eyes, shooing her wife away both to complete her son's request, and in order to have her turn in taking Krolia's hand. “It's so nice to meet you, Krolia. I'm Etsuko. The annoying one is Izumi.”

“Excuse me, darling!”

“You're excused.”

The room filled with snickers at Izumi's flustered scoff. Kolivan took this as the opportune moment to approach the women, though he appeared a tad awkward.

“I'm Kolivan, leader of the Blade of Marmora.”

“Oh! Nice to meet you! Your group was responsible for rescuing Izumi and I!”

“Glad to hear that. The others will be honored knowing that they saved the mothers of one of the Black Paladins.”

(Shiro's blush darkened at being called by his 'old' title. Though, honestly, Shiro would always be the Black Paladin. At least to Keith.)

Conversation easily flowed after the last introduction. The Paladins and Coran practically begged for stories of Shiro when he was little, since Shiro rarely shared much about himself. Which his mothers were all too happy to indulge in, much to their son's dismay. Especially when there were collective coos and awes with each new tale. Seemed to goad on the mothers almost shamelessly. Shiro looked like he contemplated the idea of the ground swallowing him up. Which also fueled his mothers. Mostly Izumi, who turned up the cheese in her storytelling up to eleven just to see him mortified and whine about being betrayed. 

Eventually, as the stories kept flowing, now from both sides and calming down, Keith found Shiro looking at him fondly. Like he always did. With a sleepy smile, Keith turned his palm upright and waited. It didn't take a genius to see what was being offered, but this thing between them was still new and slightly terrifying. Plus this was more about Shiro's moms being here. He wouldn't be surprised if Shiro didn't take his hand.

However, after a moment of hesitation, his hand was taken ever so gently. After another moment of hesitation, Shiro squeezed tight as he laced their fingers together with a softness he never showed before. Made Keith's chest swell with a hundred different emotions. They stared at each other for some time before Shiro leaned in. He pressed their foreheads together, causing them both to close their eyes and inhale. Calm...undeniable calm rested between them. They were safe, alive, and mostly whole. They were surrounded by their loved ones, all of whom were just as safe, alive, and mostly whole as them. They had their families with them – both blood and found. There was laughter and joy surrounding them. No signs of the trauma and grief any of them endured present.

What more could they ask for?

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me in my usual haunts! (Just let me know you came from here coz I am a shy bean)
> 
> Twtitter: https://twitter.com/madnessofvoid  
tumblr: https://youfancymemaddearie.tumblr.com/


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